ECSI's Student Privacy Statement
Revised: February 20, 2007 Original: June 8, 1998

You can either select one of the following FAQ categories:
  1. Introduction
  2. Usage Data
  3. Internet Access Codes
  4. Cookies
  5. Pop Up Ads
  6. Student Information
  7. Electronic Communications
  8. Mailing Lists
  9. Exclusions
  10. Compliance
  11. Additional Resources
  12. Contacting Us



Introduction
Educational Computer Systems, Inc. is firmly committed to the privacy of individuals utilizing our Internet services. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for this site: www.ecsi.net.

Usage Data
Our web servers have the ability to automatically collect certain information that a web browser provides. This collection ability is commonly referred to as a usage log or a traffic log.

ECSI's usage logs collect detail information such as IP address, domain name, browser, date, time and page accessed. This information is used in the general administration of our web site, diagnosing problems with the server and monitoring traffic patterns. ECSI staff uses the detail information collected for internal purposes only. Our usage logs do not collect email address information. You will not be contacted by ECSI personnel based on any entries in the usage log. No detail information collected in our usage logs will ever be given or sold to any party.

ECSI may summarize the detail information and prepare aggregated information such as counts and flow patterns. This information is critical for the purposes of service monitoring, site improvement and content analysis. ECSI may periodically publish this summary data. Summary data will never contain any references to or information provided by an individual.

Internet Access Codes
ECSI may authorize users to access certain web pages or other Internet services by issuing a user ID and password combination. No employee or representative of ECSI will ever ask for password information. If you are ever requested to provide your Internet password, do not provide it! You should immediately send an email to Webmaster@ecsi.net providing the date, time, employee's name (if available) and a brief description of the incident.

Clients are assigned unique IDs and passwords. These accounts are assigned for the use of your organization only. You must not provide this information to anyone outside your organization.

Cookies and Web Bugs
ECSI does not use cookies for any purpose at this time. If, at a future time, we decide to utilize cookies, ECSI will change this privacy statement and place a notice directly on our home page.

ECSI does not use Web Bugs as a means of tracking visitors or providing information to third parties. We believe this practice is at best deceitful and have a firm policy prohibiting the use of Web Bugs on our site.

Pop Up Ads
Some Visitors to our web site may have advertisements display over our site in a pop-up window. ECSI does not advertise to our visitors. These advertisements are most often created by an AdWare application that was loaded on the visitor's system. Additional information is available in our HelpDesk article: Pop Up Ads.

Student Information
ECSI maintains a database of student information including email addresses. This information is provided by you, to the institution you attended or to ECSI, in the process of servicing your loan. ECSI's master databases are not maintained or stored in a location that exposes this information to the Internet. These databases are contained on completely separate servers.

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect on-line and store on our production servers.

The information that is maintained on the ECSI web site is stored in an encrypted form. In the event that our Internet security systems are breached, the data would still remain reasonably secure.

ECSI severely restricts the use of information collected on our site. Information pertaining directly to your student loan is shared with the institution you attended. Depending on our contractual obligations with the client or the legal obligations of the loan type, certain information may also be shared with: the Department of Education, National Student Loan Data System, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Student Loan Clearinghouse, credit bureaus and/or collection agencies. ECSI may release information when mandated by a court order.

In addition to the restrictions ECSI self-imposes on the distribution of data, we also abide by several Federal laws governing the privacy of information related to the information under our control. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Regulations which concerns the dissemination of education records and in general The Privacy Act of 1974 as Amended which controls the dissemination of information collected for federal records.

ECSI will never knowingly or willingly release any information to any other party without prior authorization.

Electronic Communications
Information provided by electronic means is treated with the same respect as other forms of communication. Unlike other forms of communication, information provided electronically can be intercepted at many points between the source and destination. ECSI has instituted a number of methods to ensure the privacy of any electronic communications. You should review the Security FAQ for information on using these privacy features. ECSI cannot be responsible for the interception of information that a student has transmitted electronically without using proper security precautions.

Mailing Lists
ECSI enables visitors to provide their Email address on this web site. The Email address will be used only in connection with business between the visitor, the visitor's client and ECSI. Any use outside that just described will be documented on the page requesting an Email address. After you have placed your name on a list, you may request to have your entry removed at any time. To be removed, email webmaster@ecsi.net. Include the page or pages from which you wish to be removed. In the future we will offer an automated "Opt-out" procedure. At that time, we will stop accepting email requests.

Exclusions
In the event that illegal activity (such as but not limited to hacking, harassment or violation of standing law or statue) using ECSI equipment or facilities is detected, the offender waives the protection offered in our privacy statement. Any data collected on the offender may then be made available to their domain administrators and/or any law enforcement agency.

Compliance
ECSI believes that it is compliant with all applicable privacy laws and regulations, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Regulations and The Privacy Act of 1974 as Amended. We also adhere to the guidelines published by the Department of Commerce, Federal Trade Commission and W3C concerning the disclosure of privacy policies and information use. ECSI considers those laws, regulations and guidelines to be minimum standards. We will continually monitor customer and visitor comments and suggestions. This feedback will be used to adjust our privacy statement to better address the needs and desires of our clients.

Additional Resources


Contacting Us
If you have any questions or comments about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this web site, you can contact us at:

Webmaster
Heartland ECSI
100 Global View Drive, Suite 800
Warrendale, PA 15086

Webmaster@ecsi.net